Alsomali Nimah, Amer Khaled A, Almutairi Arwa A, Almasoudi Razan M, Alkhonizy Sarah W, Faqih Halimah H, Alkhamis Hajar A, AlGarni Hanadi M
Neuroscience, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, SAU.
College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, SAU.
Cureus. 2022 Dec 21;14(12):e32781. doi: 10.7759/cureus.32781. eCollection 2022 Dec.
Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a coronavirus subtype called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is crucial to control the spread of coronavirus by understanding the disease and practicing the measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system immune-mediated inflammatory demyelinating disease. COVID-19 infection may exacerbate the MS disease and its relapses. Therefore, MS patients are more susceptible to infection because of their immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory medications. Objective We aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and behaviors of patients with MS in Saudi Arabia regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Method A quantitative observational cross-sectional study was conducted. MS patients in Saudi Arabia were included in the study population. Data were collected via an online self-reported questionnaire from 214 participants from November 2020 to June 2021. Results A total of 214 MS patients participated in this study. The gender distribution showed that the male participants represented 38.3% (n = 82), while female participants accounted for 61.7% (n = 132). Most MS patients understood the COVID-19 preventive measures. The mean knowledge score was 15.7 (SD = 2.34, range: 1-20), showing an appropriate level of knowledge. While the mean behaviors score was 6.1 (SD = 1.2, range: 2-9), showing good behaviors. The mean score for attitude was 5.4 (SD = 1.77, range: 1-8), showing optimistic attitudes. However, a closer analysis of the participants' answers showed that 74.3% of the patients agreed that the treatment plan should be discussed with their doctors during the pandemic. In addition, almost half of the participants (49.1%) agreed that being an MS patient means they are at higher risk of getting infected by the virus. Data also showed that 17% of patients continued to attend social events involving many people. Also, 28.0% of the patients reported being in crowded places. Conclusion MS patients' risk of COVID-19 might be linked to their knowledge, attitude, and behaviors. Our results suggest that although MS patients have a high knowledge and good attitude and behaviors, it is still essential to have health education programs among MS patients to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on MS patients' care. Knowledge, attitude, and behaviors toward the COVID-19 pandemic can highlight the importance of education programs and translate the findings into action to minimize the disease risk.
背景 2019 冠状病毒病（COVID - 19）由一种名为严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）的冠状病毒亚型引起。通过了解该疾病并践行在 COVID - 19 大流行期间所采取的措施来控制冠状病毒的传播至关重要。多发性硬化症（MS）是一种中枢神经系统免疫介导的炎性脱髓鞘疾病。COVID - 19 感染可能会加剧 MS 病情及其复发。因此，MS 患者因其免疫抑制或免疫调节药物治疗而更易感染。
目的 我们旨在评估沙特阿拉伯 MS 患者对 COVID - 19 大流行的认知、态度和行为。
方法 进行了一项定量观察性横断面研究。沙特阿拉伯的 MS 患者被纳入研究人群。2020 年 11 月至 2021 年 6 月期间，通过在线自我报告问卷收集了 214 名参与者的数据。
结果 共有 214 名 MS 患者参与了本研究。性别分布显示，男性参与者占 38.3%（n = 82），而女性参与者占 61.7%（n = 132）。大多数 MS 患者了解 COVID - 19 预防措施。平均知识得分是 15.7（标准差 = 2.34，范围：1 - 20），表明知识水平适当。而平均行为得分是 6.1（标准差 = 1.2，范围：2 - 9），表明行为良好。态度平均得分是 5.4（标准差 = 1.77，范围：1 - 8），表明态度乐观。然而，对参与者答案的进一步分析表明，74.3%的患者同意在大流行期间应与医生讨论治疗方案。此外，几乎一半的参与者（49.1%）同意作为 MS 患者意味着他们感染病毒的风险更高。数据还显示，17%的患者继续参加涉及很多人的社交活动。并且，28.0%的患者报告去过人员拥挤的地方。
结论 MS 患者感染 COVID - 19 的风险可能与其认知、态度和行为有关。我们的结果表明，尽管 MS 患者有较高的认知水平、良好的态度和行为，但在 MS 患者中开展健康教育项目以降低 SARS-CoV-2 感染风险以及 COVID - 19 大流行对 MS 患者护理的影响仍然至关重要。对 COVID - 19 大流行的认知、态度和行为可以凸显教育项目的重要性，并将研究结果转化为行动以最小化疾病风险。
